Bali... My 1st Trip

On the eve of yet another trip to Bali i felt like blogging about my first ever trip there many years ago...yes let me emphasize "many years ago" cause i look rather different now...better actually :)
It was a pretty long trip, a few weeks long since it was my first trip there i really wanted to explore Bali..You know see all the top tourist spots, eat at their famous restaurants, get conned by locals , get conned paying exhorbitant amounts for silly things, get conned eating at tourist traps, etc etc!


I divided my stay into 3 different phases according to the 3 different resorts i stayed at. The resorts were very generous in sponsoring my holiday, letting me stay for free...

Yea right. I wish!

I stayed at Ubud first.
Ubud is very laid back, full of art gallerys and loads of expats who fancy themselves as the "cultured" sort. No rowdy crowds of hairy white man here...Only well-dressed ang-mohs in their expensive cotton shirts and linen pants.

The Lobby of Uma Ubud.

The Resort's landscape was lush with soothing water features.
Very in-line with their holistic retreat theme...

The swimming pool and the Club House

Entrance to my Villa

I thought since i was living in a cultured part of Bali i better act it!
Walked around and checked out Neka Art Museum. Loads of good paintings and sketches of Bali from long ago. Very informative and quite entertaining...

And on other days i just felt like lazing by the pool...

The Resort's really lovely...They have a nice gym, amazing chef that whips up fancy organic food (what an oxymoron right, but it was seriously good!) and very helpful staff.

They provide a good size travel bag (other resorts' bags are just too big!), and comfy slippers (which you're allowed to bring home...but I would have kept them anyway..haha)

For my first dinner in Bali...I had crispy yummy duck (which is a must-try according to my guide...)It was also the first time i tried Arak. The food was really delicious!Too bad i can't remember what the restaurant was called. All i remember was the owner was trained in Paris for pastry and desserts that's why i HAD to eat there...

On one of my "tourist" days i visited a Volcano from a far... Was just too lazy to hike all the way up...Which is just as well considering what happened to a Swedish tourist who fell into the crater recently. Sadly he died cause he leaned over to see the crater...



I'm not saying that everyone who hikes up falls in...It's just that i'm a super curious cat!

Here with my own personal local tour guide... So handsome...

Drove past rice fields...The crops are planted on terrains cut into the hillside on very fertile ground...
so near the volcano mah...

I then came across this farmer who happily asked me to take a photo of him then demanded i pay him.. I mean come on...It's not like he was dressed in a costume or anything! Like i said kena conned...

I also checked out a temple.. They wanted me to buy a sarong even though i purposely wore a decent length skirt that day...
Kena conned again! Sigh...

On one of the afernoons i walked to a Monkey Park near the resort... There were peddlars selling very expensive bananas for us to feed them (and again!)

Was a little apprehensive intially so thought i better let their own kind feed them first...heheh... i meant the nationality. Not the species...

I was so intrigued by this Mummy-Baby pair...Oh so cute!!!

Er, maybe not...

Ok so my turn came...Thought i should sit down demurely so they won't feel threatened by my ethereal appearance...hahah

Then this very daring monkey crept up behind me and demanded not only a banana...

...but also a kiss! (poor primate couldn't help himself...hahahaha...)

I really enjoyed walking around Bali just taking in the sights...(and also to burn off all the crispy duckS i've been gorging myself with!)

Saw nice random buildings like this temple...

Ate at a restaurant with a gorgeous lotus pond...

Saw loads of pretty places of worship...

Then after all that exercise i thought it fit to reward myself with a spa treatment...
And yes, i paid a crazy amount for it just because i'm a tourist...

But i think it was worth it! : )

I had dinner at Bebek Bengil...with more Arak of course.
Arak is a type of wine made from palm sap... a lot like East Malaysia's Tuak. It's very yummy but potent (about 40% alcohol content)

The next resort i checked into was the Grand Hyatt. A cosy family-oriented resort..
I decided to order room-service cause i suffered from a bad tummy ache. Must have been too much spicy food... or maybe Arak...hahaha...

I was happily eating my lunch when i spotted a monitor lizard swimming by in the pond right outside my room...

My room with the open concept bath...

On one of my evenings there i finally decided to visit Kuta Beach... See what all the fuss was about the sunset. I must say it was breathtaking...

Bali has some of the best sunsets i've seen. When dusk arrives, there's this undescribable feeling of calm that settles upon everyone. Like God secretly laid a gentle blanket of serenity over all of us.

So the next day i headed to KuDeTa to park on one of the sunlougers there. Watching the sun set with a DJ spinning good trance music in the background was definitely one of my favourite days. Too bad i haven't got pictures of it...Must have been the mushrooms i ate that day... Hmm...Really strange things these Balinese mushrooms... heheh...

On some days when i felt hardworking i'd force myself to do touristy stuff... So I went for a show.. Yes, you guessed it...another tourist-trap!...

This is one of my favourite photos...(and i'm actually not in it...: )

The mythical much-loved Barong...

Sorry i just couldn't resist! hahaha...

I thought since i was conned into buying the sarong, i might as well put it to good use and bought myself a kebaya! So shiok sendiri...hahaha...

And decided to make full use of my newly acquired outfit by posing all around the Resort...

I also bought a new Roxy bikini from Kuta... more cam-whoring for sure!!!

The Resort has 5 swimming pools.. Yes 5!!!

And a nice long stretch of white sandy beach...Rather private too!

Ahhh... Sun, Sand, Sea and ME!

At Uluwatu where i witnessed yet another arresting sunset...

I've seen the Kecak "Sun-worshipping" dance on TV many times before and never really thought much about it until i witnessed it myself at Uluwatu...

Kecak is a form of Balinese music drama performed by a circle of 100 or so semi-naked men. They wear a checked sarong around their waists and percussively chant "CHUCK" (like when you say "ci-CAK"). They throw up their arms in sequence and depict the story of Ramayana.

No music accompanies them. Just their voices chanting, kept in beat with a loud sonorous team-leader. The entire performance was mesmerising and almost trance-like. It kept me enraptured. Apparently it developed from a trance-inducing exorcism dance. (I think it was just the mushrooms...LOL)

After loads of duck, for a change i had seafood at Jimbaran by the beach...yea i know, i know, another tourist-trap...But i just cannot resist the fresh seafood grilled with a fire fuelled by coconut husk...drizzle a little lime juice over it then eat it wih loads of sambal...sluurrrpp!

For the last phase of my holiday i stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel. A very fun, casual, energetic resort with a bar that was always packed! It truly catered to the last leg of my holiday. Perfect place to unwind because it wasn't too high-class (equals boring) or too luxurious (equals quiet)...

I spent the mornings working out in their so-so gym, my days hanging out in their pool-side Cabanas and my nights listening to live bands...

...oh yea and pretending to play chess! hahah..

And yet i've returned to Bali several more times after my first trip because not only is it relatively cheap, it's also got some real nice resorts and private villas nestled in secluded little coves. Balinese people are a fun friendly lot! They may try to reap you off but i now realised that the trick is to speak in Bahasa with them before they assume you're Japanese or from some other big currency country.

I felt bored one aftenoon and decided to veg out for 4 hours in a salon getting my hair braided... I thought i looked like chinese Alicia Keys then...But on hind-sight... maybe not!

Another BEE-OOOO-TI-FUL sunset... I wish i was there again...
Wait. I AM flying off to Bali in the morning! Wow-weee... : )